Photo: thesmokinggun.com
There’s a reason why Uber urges riders to always make sure that the car they’re getting into is the Uber they hailed on the app: there are plenty of sick people out there who would take advantage of one moment’s inattention.
A man from Tuscaloosa, Alabama was charged this week with two felony kidnapping counts, and impersonating a ride share driver, stemming from a March arrest when he was caught with an unconscious student in the backseat of his car. He is identified as 62-year-old Tommy Wayne Beard, The Smoking Gun reports.
Beard’s MO was to pose as an Uber driver and pick up drunk students from outside local bars. He would then take pictures of them unconscious and assault or rape them. As of now, local police have identified 3 female victims, including the one who was in the backseat in March.
The arrest was a lucky coincidence: deputies approached a “suspicious vehicle” parked on the highway, and found Beard and his victim. Beard was wearing prosthetic male genitalia and the victim said she had no recollection of anything after she came outside the club. Beard was probably driving her to his home.
Beard had an “Uber vehicle mounted light” on his dashboard and claimed to be working for the ride-sharing company. He eventually admitted to lying. On his phone, police found photos of another woman, also unconscious in the backseat of his car.
Beard was initially charged with kidnapping with intent to “inflict physical injury… or violate or abuse sexually,” as police assumed there was only one victim. The subsequent investigation determined there were 2 more victims, one of whom was discovered last year, wandering alone through the woods and having no idea how she’d gotten there.
For your safety, if you use ride-sharing services, check that the description of the driver and the car in the app fit with what you’re seeing in front of you. Always ask the driver to tell you your name before you get in the car, and ask to be let out the second you start to feel uncomfortable about something.
Beard’s MO was to pose as an Uber driver and pick up drunk students from outside local bars. He would then take pictures of them unconscious and assault or rape them. As of now, local police have identified 3 female victims, including the one who was in the backseat in March.
The arrest was a lucky coincidence: deputies approached a “suspicious vehicle” parked on the highway, and found Beard and his victim. Beard was wearing prosthetic male genitalia and the victim said she had no recollection of anything after she came outside the club. Beard was probably driving her to his home.
Beard had an “Uber vehicle mounted light” on his dashboard and claimed to be working for the ride-sharing company. He eventually admitted to lying. On his phone, police found photos of another woman, also unconscious in the backseat of his car.
Beard was initially charged with kidnapping with intent to “inflict physical injury… or violate or abuse sexually,” as police assumed there was only one victim. The subsequent investigation determined there were 2 more victims, one of whom was discovered last year, wandering alone through the woods and having no idea how she’d gotten there.
For your safety, if you use ride-sharing services, check that the description of the driver and the car in the app fit with what you’re seeing in front of you. Always ask the driver to tell you your name before you get in the car, and ask to be let out the second you start to feel uncomfortable about something.
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